Switch

Motivating internet use and digital-skills development among offline or low-skilled residents requires informality, empathy and time; the bigger challenge is building holistic, sustainable digital-skills provision, especially amid austerity-driven public-sector cuts. No single stakeholder can provide the people and resources needed alone, so Switch promotes a collaborative, networked partnership approach across local areas, led by Citizens Online.

Identify where digitally excluded people live in a local area using data and mapping tools, analyse local digital-inclusion assets and gaps in provision, assess an organisation's capability to deliver digitally-inclusive services, and launch a local, cross-sector digital-inclusion network with a joint action plan.

Each Switch project produces a "Findings & Recommendations" report (a call to action on digital inequality in a given area) and a "Baseline Evidence" report detailing the underlying research. A project usually takes four to six months, typically led by a local authority, clinical commissioning group or housing association, or a consortium of partners working toward joint aims.

Switch addresses digital inclusion at a regional/community level rather than focusing on a single target group, and is designed to be the launchpad for an ongoing, cross-sector local digital-inclusion network rather than a one-off intervention.